fbpx

DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

Search

Submit A Story

Free Lightroom alternative: Moving your images from Darktable to GIMP

by Leave a Comment

This is the final part of a five-part series on the free and open-source Lightroom alternative, Darktable by photographer Chris Parker. Chris didn’t write a post to accompany the fifth video in the series, but we didn’t want to leave the series of posts unfinished, so here we are.

If you missed them, check out parts 1-4, covering Getting started with Darktable, Importing your images into Darktable, Processing your RAW files in Darktable, and Exporting images from Darktable for editing in another application. Another application like GIMP (which is also free and open-source). And that’s what this final video is about.

[Read More…]

Free Lightroom alternative: Exporting images in Darktable

by Leave a Comment

This is part four of five in a series. Check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Now that you’ve completed your editing, you’re ready to share it with the world. But how? Well, the answer lies within this tutorial.

It should be noted that edits to your image are not saved directly to the image file. Instead, the editing data is recorded in darktable’s database and an XMP file if the preference default settings are left unchanged. To share your images, you’ll need to “export” them, and the edits you applied will be included.

If you’re ready to learn how to export your images with darktable… let’s do it!

[Read More…]

Free Lightroom alternative: Processing and editing images in Darktable

by 3 Comments

Feeling a little overwhelmed with editing in Darktable? After using Lightroom exclusively for 13 years, I too found myself scratching my head when I first fired up darkroom. A lot of the editing tools are similar to Lightroom. Although, those tools have more built-in features vs. Lightroom. Plus, there’s a bunch of new tools that not even Lightroom has!

This is part three of five in a series. Check out Part 1 and Part 2. In today’s tutorial, I’d like to share some basic edits to help you get started with editing in Darktable. If you’re ready… let’s do it! Oh, and here is the before and after image that I’ll be demonstrating for you…

[Read More…]

Free Lightroom alternative: Importing images into Darktable (quick start guide)

by 1 Comment

This is part two of five in a series. You can see Part 1 here. Before you can start editing your images with Darktable, you must first import them! There’s a couple of things we should get out of the way first. One, Darktable does not create a catalog like Lightroom! Two, your image files are not being imported.

So, what you see is a preview of your original file. Therefore, do NOT use Darktable as a way to back up your files… since that’s not what it was designed for. Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s explore two different options for importing your images; via your hard drive or your camera.

[Read More…]

How to take colorful macro photos of crystals without a microscope

by Leave a Comment

What is Birefringence?

Birefringence is an effect that causes psychedelic rainbow colours to appear in otherwise transparent materials. Such as the magnifying glass in the pictures above.
But actually, it’s a little more complicated than that:

Birefringent materials (mostly crystals) split an entering light ray into two rays that are both polarized with the vibration directions oriented at right angles to one another, and traveling at different velocities. When placed between two crossed polarizing filters, such materials appear in bright colors. With only polarized light entering the subject, one wave gets retarded with respect to the other and interference occurs between the waves as they pass through the second polarizer.
Even though you can create fantastic results just using two CPL filters, best results will be achieved with linear polarizers.

[Read More…]

Follow these eight tips for stunning colors in your photos

by Leave a Comment

Whether it emphasizes the subject or is a subject itself, color is a powerful ally in creating a striking image. In this video, Jamie Windsor gives you eight tips that will help you master the use of color in your photos. He supports each of them with a set of wonderful examples, so take a look, take notes, and enjoy.

[Read More…]

Free Lightroom alternative: Getting started with Darktable part 1

by 4 Comments

Darktable is a fantastic alternative to Lightroom. It has more tools, and those tools have more advanced features to help you achieve your creative vision.

Today I want to show you how to get started with Darktable. This is part one of five in this series. At the bottom of this tutorial, you’ll find a link to the next article for getting started with Darktable.

Ready to cut the Adobe cord?  Awesome!  Let’s get started…

[Read More…]

Five portrait lighting patterns you need to learn

by Leave a Comment

It seems that there are always things we “need” to learn when it comes to shooting certain genres of photography. And while many of them for a lot of genres do boil down to personal taste, when it comes to portraits, there are some things that you need to know and understand, like lighting techniques – even if you don’t use all of them all of the time.

In this video, photographer Hannah Couzens shows us five different popular portrait lighting styles that every portrait photographer should really know and understand. She also demonstrates them using both hard and soft light, so that you can see how the light actually hits the subject and how to make it more visually pleasing.

[Read More…]

Watch: Video explains the difference between your camera’s native and extended ISO range

by Leave a Comment

ISO seems to be a much more complicated topic than it needs to be really. I see so many questions about ISO posted online from confused new camera owners that it makes me wonder when it got so complex. But it’s really not that difficult to grasp, really, when it’s broken down and explained.

In this video, photographer Dave McKeegan walks us through ISO, explains the terms and elaborates on some of the tech so that you can understand the differences between base ISO, native ISO and extended ISO. He also explains what the hell dual native ISO is, how it works and how it can benefit you as a creative.

[Read More…]

Depth of Field explained using Lego figures

by Leave a Comment

If you’re just starting out with photography, the concept of depth of field is one of the first ones to learn. And in this video, you’ll see it explained in the comprehensive, but also the most fun possible way – with Lego figures. Four Bricks Tall helps you grasp the concept of depth of field in only three minutes so you can improve your storytelling in toy photography or any other genre.

[Read More…]

Recent Posts